Desk tray or basket



l I I I C .E A N 10 0 I 29 APPIlc T F D 1920 Feb. 2

8. .Mmw

A WW .N. ..M 4 .w.

140/, f0 X szz$zsz sz$z$:.... M.. w )0. ....zzzzis.... zsszz.

fszzz. Kasai. H

...W a. Q 00 p a..

5 2 i O o O O O o o O 0 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NED A. OCHI'LTREE, 0F O MAHA NEBRASKA.

DESK TRAY on BASKET.

Meshes.

cati n i hs IIWQIIHOIL p r ainst desk. rees r be kets ferl t ters and 1 papersa d consi n a manner. of t rm-111g the-same,

p ferali y of; :expandedimetal V, v in p120- viding the sa e; with ribs, cross. bars, or eler tions n JQ'JG ClSN T' defild the bottom,t0 act,a egrcasp ngiheends or sides of:- t e S ee s p epara ry to removing hem from the; re eptacl 1 Th inventioni illustrated in: the.- acco panying. drawi gs, wh rein:

Figure '1 is a plan View. of: a blank cut from what is; commonlyrknownto the trade au'd-cpub i as expanded metal, and; suitable tthem t onof'atray orbasket;

ig;.2.a;se i0na1.viewi of a; tray ormed by propen folding or manipulation'of. such ari la lr; I a r Fig. 3, an end view of the same;

Rigid, atop; plan view, of the tray;

ig. 5, perspectiVevieW in outline, show.- ing the completed tray and indicating the foldinglines';' Y

Fig. 6,; a perspective view of a 's1nall,section of the expanded metal, showing the meshesof about the actual or preferred. di-

inensionsin the drawing as: filed andabefore reductiolrof the drawing-to.patent size;

Fig. 7.13860601131 View taken on theline 77 of Fig, 6; and

' F'gsrS, '9 and. 10. diagrammaticviews illustrating. the preferred; manner of folding. thefoverlapping endan'dbottom sections ofthehlanlrto form a;j'oint;and permanent connection.-

- Traysor baskets for: desk-use, to receive letters and'other-loose sheets, are-commonly made of wood, of wovenor interlaced wire, or, o-fsusualj basket materials, and of; somewhat variant form and dimensions. As

hitherto constructed, such receptacles have.

Specif cation of Letters Patent. I Patented FBI)- 28 1922. Application filevds October 29,- 1920; semimiezonm.

the receptacles; are made, with consequent tearing ofthe sheets; or that, in the case ofwooden structures, they come apart through, atmospheric Changes and conditions, which cause swelling of shrinkage of the wood, and separation of the glued or cemented parts Vith: all! such. receptacles as he: seine have. heretofore been made, so far as I am aware, it has been diilicult to passa finger or fingers beneath the papers prep aratQljy'ilQ lifting or, removii'rg them, the sheets lyin'g closetothe-bottom: and extending to or neatly. toithe upright walls of the tray or basket.

13.01 obviate these several defects, I preferably.- construct; my tray or. basket of soca'lledi expanded: metal, produced by form- .ing slitsinv ShGBlJI'IIlGtELl a long parallel lines, those, of; one line" alternating: with or over.- lapping those. Ofi proximate lines, and. stretching Q1? drawing: outthe metal: in a: direction perpendicular to suchslits. The metal thus treatech presents aiseries of regularly spaced, diamond-shapedr openings symmetrically arrangech.asqillustrated in Got the drawings, It is quite light, very strong, and at the same timeineXpensi've. It: presents no crossing or ouerlyingstrands, wires, or strips of: any kind: between which papers might enter and be held, andhence eliminates one objectionable feature of wire and. basket either end ofv thc tray, but their number and arrangement may be varied without departing from thespirit and-'scope'of my invention; I

Referring" again to' the drawings, 1 indicates a blank suitable for formation of a tray or basket, the same comprising a central rectangular portion 2, which latter constitutes the bottom of the receptacle, with short projecting ends 3 to aid in joining the bottom and ends; two longitudinal sections at, to form the upstanding side walls; and two substantially trlangular extensions 5 of each side section at, one at elther end, said united with the projecting ends 3 to form the ends and unite the parts. The blank 1 is folded along the dotted lines shown in Fig. 1, the side sections 4L- being turned upward to an approximately vertical position, the projecting ends 3 of the bottom being bent slightly downward as in Fig. 8, the ends or extensions 5 being swung inward to overlap each other and the free edges 6 thereof being bent to position parallel with the ends 3, as shown in Fig. 8, after which the edges 3 and 6 are rolled or coiled together as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, to produce a close and firm 'oint. J In the drawings I have shown two transverse ribs 7, one near either end of the bottom, and both raised or projecting upward therefrom. Each rib serves to hold the papers up and off the bottom of the trayor basket. If the papers be light and fairly stiff, they may be bodily held up from the bottom, but if several sheetsbe laid one upon another, or if the paper be light and limp, or if subjected to slight pressure, it will fall to the bottom on the side of the rib away from the nearest wall of the receptacle, thereby canting upward the edge of the sheet or sheets, and enabling the same to be grasped with ease and certainty.

In the drawings I have represented the ribs 7 as formed by pressing or bending upward the metal of the bottom in the form of an inverted V, and this is the preferred construction. I believe myself the first, however, to provide such a tray or receptacle with a rib or projection rising from its bottom to support fiat sheets and facilitate the presentation of their free edges to the fingers and thumb of one desiring to lift or remove'the sheets, and itis obvious that the same may be made in any convenient way and of any suitable form, continuous or interrupted, so long asthe capabilities indicated are retained.

As indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, the blank is cut in such a way or along such lines of the expanded metal as to produce a sort of zigzag for the sides 4:, while the end sections 5 have straight, smooth edges, and it will fur ther be noted that owing to the triangular form of the end sections 5 there is a lowering of the end walls toward the midwidth'of the tray, which facilitates the grasping of the sheets at such point. On the other hand, the ends rise to the height of the sides where jecting bottom ends and ends and sides meet, and hence the sheets are r as effectively held against slipping off at the ends as at the sides. extensions to be folded or overlapped and 1 It will be noted that under the described construction all soldered and riveted joints or connections are avoided, and a I very strong and serviceable tray is produced at small, cost.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is 1. A portable desk tray having its bottom provided with a raised support for papers, located in proximity to one of the boundaries of said bottom, and rising sufiiciently above the general level of the bottom to cause the edge of a paper lying within the basket to project upward from the bottom in convenient position to begrasped, the proximate wall parallel with said support being cut away at its mid portion to afford unobstructed access to the upturned ends of papers lying upon the support.

QMA blank for the formation of a desk tray, comprisinga bottom section of rectangular form having short endprojections, side wall portions having their outer edges parallel with the bottomsection for a distance co-extensive' with'the length of 'such bottom'section proper, and extending in substantially triangular form beyond said bot-- tom, the hypotenuse of each triangle being on the outer side, and there being a free inner edgeextending inward beyond the side boundaries of the bottom and detached from the bottom section to the extent of such inward extension.

3. A desk tray formed of a single piece ofmaterial'cut to produce a blank having a bottoniwith short end projections, sidewall portions, and end extensions with free edges, said blank having the side and end portions turned-H upward to approximately vertical position and theend extensions overlapped,

the parts being retained in such folded positions by rolling or curling together the'profree-edges of the end extensions. a i' 4;. As a new article of manufacture, a desk tray formed'of a single sheet of expanded metal, and comprising, a flat rectangular bottom, upturned side walls, and end walls, the latter decreasing in height fromthe'side walls toward the midwidth of the'basket, and the bottom being formed withupwardly projecting cross ribs'near its ends; 1

, In testimony whereof I have signedmy name to this specification. 1 5

NED A. ooHILTnEE. 

